The demand for electronics boomed in India, is it a business trend?

According to the latest data published on the official website of the Ministry of Health of India, at 8 am local time on June 17, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in India has risen to 354,065 cases, with a total of 11,903 deaths and a total of 186,935 cured.

ETTelecom.com reported on June 10 that although India’s lifting lockdown, electronic product companies still cannot quickly expand production and can only rely on imports to meet the demand. The companies includes the two largest smart Mobile phone manufacturers Xiaomi and OPPO. The executives said they both have decided to import mobile phones from China.

In the past few weeks, sales of imported products such as laptops and dishwashers have increased. The imports of related companies have increased by 2-4 times. Experts said the main reason is that there is no enough labor and the factories were forced to close. The factory cannot be expanded because of the need to maintain space between personnel to avoid being infected.

The output of OPPO factory in Greater Noida plunged 70%. The factory also produces Realme and OnePlus mobile phones. An Industry executives said the two brands are also studying import business. However, due to the 22% import tariff, no step has been taken.

Experts said that the production of Xiaomi is about 40-45% before the epidemic. And other companies such as Vivo are in the same situation. Xiaomi. However, OPPO and Realme did not respond to the research. A spokesperson from OnePlus India said that the company has resumed production in accordance with the health and safety regulations of the Indian government, including the OnePlus 7 series and the newly launched OnePlus 8 series.

Chandu Reddy, director of Sangeetha Mobiles, which is the largest mobile retail chain in southern India, said that although some brands are also importing smart phones. They may not immediately increase prices but will suffer the impact of higher tariffs. According to Mike Foreign Trade, Krishna Pavan, chairman of Happi Mobiles, a Hyderabad retail chain, said that market demand and shortages of less than Rs 15,000 (approximately RMB 1,394) are the most serious and imports are higher.

Brands such as Bosch and LG said that since the shutdown, sales of dishwashers have increased 2.5-4 times, leading to a increasing in imports. Neeraj Bahl, director and chief executive of BSH Home Appliances, said he would consider importing inventory to cope with sales during the holiday season.

Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) Association, said it would be very difficult to restore the local mobile phone manufacturing industry to pre-epidemic levels, adding that the industry is seeking to end the month of June Reached about 50% of normal production. At the same time, he said: “Import taxes are as high as 22%, and competition is very difficult. But customers must get services, so our members can take temporary imports.” ICEA is worried about the lack of local supply and high-end goods, plus the service tax (GST) As a result, the gray market for entry-level and mid-range smartphones may expand. ”

Counterpoint Deputy Director Tarun Pathak said that brands can consider importing older models. Over a period of time, the material cost of these models will be lower, while demand will remain strong. Therefore, the brand will not provide deep discounts, but will absorb part of the import tariffs… We have been internally evaluating “unstable inventory”. The lack of inventory may bring consumers the risk of being robbed by competitors. Importing mobile phones may be a short-term option, especially when the factory has insufficient capacity.